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FAQ: Genesis to Jesus - Lesson Six

How come David could act like a priest and Saul was punished for doing so?

The short answer is that David is a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:13-14). On the other hand, Saul didn’t share David’s concern for right worship or God’s commandments.

The first big example of this, a mistake which helped lead to Saul’s demise, is recorded in 1 Samuel 13, when he was set with a rag-tag army to fight the powerful Philistines. He was supposed to wait for Samuel who was to come in 7 days to offer sacrifice for the Israelites before they went into battle. They had no hope of victory without the help of the Lord and everyone knew it. Samuel failed to show on the 7th day and Saul wouldn’t wait any longer. He went ahead and offered the sacrifice which he thought was required in the circumstance. Shortly thereafter Samuel shows up and declares, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord you God, which he commanded you; for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel for ever. But now your kingdom shall not continue; the Lord sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14)
The reason Saul’s sacrifice was not accepted was that it was offered to get something from God, that is, victory over the Philistines. Saul wasn’t offering a sacrifice because of his love for God. Instead he was seeking to get something from God and he thought this was the way to do it.
Saul later fails again to listen to the command of the Lord and keeps the booty from a battle with the Amalekites, another of Israel’s bitter enemies (probably descended from Esau). Through Samuel, God had told Saul to destroy it all (Read 1 Samuel 15:1-35).
As a result of Saul’s failures, God sends Samuel to anoint his new choice, the son of man from Bethlehem (Jesse) named David of the tribe of Judah. David is a man after God’s own heart and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily.

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